Planning Commission Meeting
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
What Happened
The Planning Commission approved two officer elections and two permits while rejecting a 408-unit residential development on North Hills Boulevard due to traffic concerns. The meeting covered six items in roughly two hours.
Key Decisions
REJECTED — LDC 22-0075 North Hills Multi-Family Conditional Use Permit (408 units on North Hills Boulevard) — 3-2 vote — The project was denied because commissioners found it would worsen traffic at already congested intersections (Buck Drive and North Hills Boulevard) before Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) improvements are completed in 2026-2030. Staff could not confirm the project met required findings on traffic mitigation and master plan compliance.
APPROVED — Alex Velto as Planning Commission Chair — 5-0 vote — Routine officer election.
APPROVED — JD Draculich as Planning Commission Vice Chair — 5-0 vote — Routine officer election.
APPROVED — Tenant of Maps conditional use permit — Unanimous vote — Permits specified development project to proceed as proposed.
Debated But Not Resolved
Traffic timing mismatch — Commissioners worried the 408-unit project could reach full occupancy by 2026 and generate 200 peak-hour vehicle trips before RTC road improvements are finished (estimated 2026-2030). The applicant acknowledged this scenario is possible but speculative. No resolution reached.
Buck Drive and North Hills Boulevard intersection design — Traffic engineers noted the safest intersection design differs from the most operationally efficient design. RTC coordination needed to balance both. Ongoing.
Peak hour traffic counts — Applicant's traffic engineer observed only 3 vehicles queued at 7-8 a.m., contradicting public comments about massive congestion at 7:30-9 a.m. No resolution on which time period represents actual peak conditions. Post-construction traffic counts recommended.
School district safe routes improvements — Washoe County School District requested intersection improvements at Beckworth and Discovery Lane for safe routes to school. Staff determined this is outside the development project's scope and recommended coordination with public works and the safe routes program instead.
What to Watch
No single spending items over $50,000 were voted on. Impact fees from the development (if approved) would have funded regional road improvements and police services, collected at building permit stage.
North Hills project resubmission likely — Applicant may revise the proposal to address traffic findings or appeal the 3-2 rejection. Watch for a resubmission with additional traffic mitigation.
RTC improvements timeline — The 2026-2030 road improvement schedule is critical to future North Hills-area development decisions. Any delays could block similar projects.
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